The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Benefits

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Sickness Benefit – 5 March 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Sickness Benefit on 5th March 1986.

    Mr. Alfred Morris Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many people received reduced rate sickness benefit in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many of these subsequently obtained invalidity benefit;

    (2) what would be the annual cost of paying sickness benefit to anyone who had paid or been credited with contributions on earnings of 25 times the lower earnings limit in the relevant tax year;

    (3) what is his estimate of the number of people each year who will fail to qualify for invalidity benefit as a result of the proposal in the Social Security Bill to abolish reduced rate sickness benefit.

    Mr. Major I shall let the right hon. Member have replies as soon as possible.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 27 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 27th February 1986.

    Ms. Harman Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people received supplementary benefit in Watford in (a) 1979 and (b) 1983; and what percentage change that represents.

    Mr. Major In December 1980 (the earliest figures available) 6,378 people were receiving supplementary benefit from the Department’s office in Watford. In December 1983 that figure had risen by 45 per cent. to 9,263.

    (Source 100 per cent. count of live cases.)

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 27 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 27th February 1986.

    Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average payment of housing benefit to pensioners receiving supplementary benefit; how much of this is attributable to rates; and by how much this average payment will be reduced as a result of recipients having to meet 20 per cent. of their rates bill out of basic income.

    Mr. Major It is estimated that the average payment of housing benefit to pensioners receiving supplementary benefit was about £15 a week in May 1985, the latest date for which information is available. About £4.80 of this was attributable to domestic rates after non-dependant deductions. It is estimated that this figure would be of the order of £1 lower if 20 per cent. of recipients’ domestic rates bills were ineligible for benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit – 26 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 26th February 1986.

    Dr. Godman Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the answer of 3 February, concerning supplementary benefit claims in Greenock and Port Glasgow, if he will state how much was paid by each office in each year since 1979-80.

    Mr. Major I regret that no information is available about the amount of supplementary benefit paid out each year by individual local offices. Such information could be obtained only by a special exercise which would be disproportionately expensive.

    Mr. Sean Hughes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 20 February, Official Report, column 317, why information relating to young supplementary benefit claimants in Knowsley is not available.

    Mr. Major The Department’s local offices keep figures of supplementary benefit claimants under three headings only –those over pension age, those who are unemployed and those under pension age who are not unemployed.

    There is also an annual statistical inquiry based on a sample of cases in local offices which provides more detailed information, including estimated numbers of claimants in different age bands. However, the sample is not large enough to provide reliable estimates of individual local office figures.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Supplementary Benefits Handbook – 26 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Supplementary Benefits Handbook on 26th February 1986.

    Mr. Frank Field Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to publish the November 1985 “Supplementary Benefit Handbook”; and if this will include an up to date guide to the Government’s board and lodging policy.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend’s reply the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Davis) on 12 February, at column 496.

  • Mr Major’s Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit – 25 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 25th February 1986.

    Mr. Favell Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the domestic ratepayers in (a) Liverpool, (b) Manchester, (c) Stockport and (d) England and Wales as a whole receive housing benefit.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (Mr. John Major) We estimate that in 1984-85 the proportion of ratepayers receiving a rate rebate in the four areas was approximately 50 per cent., 57 per cent., 31 per cent. and 35 per cent. respectively.

    Mr. Favell Does my hon. Friend agree that those figures demonstrate the desirability of a reform of the rating system on the lines outlined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment?

    Mr. Major I concur with that point, as housing benefit now goes a long way up the income scale and many of us feel that it goes an undesirably long way up that scale.

    Mr. Eastham Do those figures project an idea to the Minister of the sheer poverty that is being experienced in some major cities? Is it not about time that there was a complete review of the benefits and subsidies that are a burden on the ratepayer? Ought they not to be a burden on the Government?

    Mr. Major The figures show that housing benefit now goes to one household in three, and that is a remarkable statistic. The benefit has doubled in real terms over the past five years and is still a substantial amount of money.

    Mr. Tony Lloyd The Minister said that 57 per cent. of ratepayers in Manchester receive housing benefit. Is that not, even for this Government, a shocking indictment showing the poverty level of wages in Manchester and the number of people who are dependent on state benefits and who have to claim housing benefit? Should not the Government be doing something about poverty in the urban areas?

    Mr. Major I am not sure to what extent the hon. Gentleman’s point arises directly from the main question. However, what clearly arises from the hon. Gentleman’s question and the answer is the extent to which housing benefit exists to help those people.

    Mrs. Beckett Does the Minister’s answer not show, first, how rents and poverty have increased under this Government; secondly, that the only way for someone to get housing benefit reasonably high up the income scale is if their rent is well above average; and, thirdly, how much damage will be caused by the proposal to make all such people pay 20 per cent. of their rates?

    Mr. Major I do not believe that any of those propositions is correct. Even after the changes in housing benefit, expenditure is still above the 1979 levels. Future proposals for local government finance are still under consultation and we must wait to see what emerges from them.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Claimants) – 24 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Claimants) on 24th February 1986.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons, registered for social security purposes as having no fixed address, and claiming benefits from local offices of his Department in (a) Cardiff and (b) Swansea, respectively, are former inpatients at mental hospitals.

    Mr. Major I regret that no information is available centrally on the number of persons claiming social security benefits at Cardiff and Swansea local offices who had no fixed address and were former in-patients at mental hospitals.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Payments – 21 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Payments on 21st February 1986.

    Mr. David Marshall Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in Scotland without full contribution records have received reduced national insurance benefit payments for each of the last five years; and what was the average payment for each year.

    Mr. Major The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Knowsley) – 20 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Knowsley) on 20th February 1986.

    Mr. Sean Hughes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons aged 16, 17 and 18 years, respectively, are presently claiming (a) supplementary and (b) other unemployment benefit in the borough of Knowsley.

    Mr. Major The table shows the number of people aged 16, 17 and 18 respectively claiming unemployment benefit in the borough of Knowsley at 9 January 1986 – the latest figures available.

    Age | Number Claiming Unemployment Benefit

    16 | 246

    17 | 898

    18 | 1,150

    I regret that similar information is not available for persons claiming supplementary benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud – 17 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud on 17th February 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many prosecutions there have been for benefit fraud in (a) Scotland and (b) Britain in 1985.

    Mr. Major In 1984-85, the last full year for which figures are available, prosecutions for benefit fraud totalled 662 in Scotland and 8,436 in Great Britain.